Board Members & Staff
Freida Espinosa
Board President / Founder / Director
(She/Her)
Freida was born in Albuquerque, NM. In 2004, she relocated to North Carolina with her husband and family. She attended UNM Valencia and Guilford College and is a proud mother of four amazing children and a grandmother to four granddaughters.
Service has always been at the heart of Freida’s life. Over the years, she has been actively involved as a board member in various community service initiatives, coaching soccer, volunteering through her church and work, and supporting her children’s schools. Her community service includes work with Meals on Wheels, Circle of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Feed NC, and the Women’s Shelter.
After leaving the corporate world in 2017, Freida earned her real estate license and has since helped families buy and sell homes throughout North and South Carolina. She is deeply passionate about housing affordability and attainability, with a long-term goal of reducing homelessness in her community and beyond.
Outside of her work and service, Freida finds joy in the beauty of the world around her. She enjoys dabbling in art, golfing, cycling, cooking, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
Pam Cooper
Board Secretary / Asst. Director
(She/Her)
Pamela Cooper has proudly called Greensboro, NC home since 1999. After moving to the area, she attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Communication Studies. She later added an associate degree in Accounting to her educational foundation.
Community service has always been a part of who Pamela is. From a young age, she found purpose in helping others, which led her to become actively involved in initiatives that address housing affordability. This passion has continued throughout her life in Greensboro, where she has volunteered with organizations such as Meals on Wheels, supported community drives, and partnered with the Greensboro Housing Coalition. Additionally, she organized and hosted a local fundraiser to assist fire victims in her own community.
Whether she’s serving others or bringing people together for a cause, Pamela approaches every effort with heart, compassion, and a genuine commitment to strengthening her community, qualities that resonate with fellow board members dedicated to making a difference.
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Nora Sexton
Staff Member
(She/Her)
Nora was born and raised in California before moving to Houston, Texas as a teenager, and later to Portland, Oregon, where she attended Lewis & Clark College. She eventually settled in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she has lived for more than 15 years. Throughout her life, Nora has remained deeply passionate about community service and supporting others in meaningful ways.
Her professional background includes working with youth through Children International, where she supported efforts to help place children into foster homes. After relocating to Greensboro, she continued working with children as a teacher before spending seven years as a Certified Clinical Chiropractic Assistant, building lasting relationships through compassionate patient care and support.
In addition to her professional experience, Nora has remained actively involved in volunteer and community-based initiatives. She has volunteered with Houston’s Juniorettes, Young Life, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, and Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Asheville, helping deliver food, water, and essential supplies to affected communities.
Outside of work and volunteering, Nora enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, swimming, and playing with her dog, Baxter. She also enjoys reading, collecting rocks and minerals, and exploring creative outlets through painting, art, and crafts. Whether near the beach or in the mountains, she feels at home in nature and is excited to bring her compassion, creativity, and dedication to service to her work with A Welcome Home and its mission of supporting youth transitioning out of foster care. fellow board members dedicated to making a difference.
Katie Allen
Financial Manager
(She / Her)
Born Mary Katharine Allen in Pinehurst, NC, "Katie" moved to Greensboro at the age of five and has proudly called it home ever since. Community service and connection were always part of her upbringing—her mother taught elementary school in Guilford County for more than 20 years, instilling a strong sense of service and dedication to others, which has influenced Katie in her role as a board member for local initiatives.
Katie played soccer and was actively involved in Young Life, including three high school spring breaks spent in Mexico building homes for families in need. Those experiences shaped her passion for giving back and confirmed what she always knew: Greensboro is where she wanted to raise her family while also advocating for housing affordability in the community.
She married her husband, Jack, in 2012 and made the decision to return to school to earn her accounting degree in 2018.
Today, she is the owner of GoodBetterBest Accounting Services, a business inspired by a saying her mother lived by: "Good, better, best—never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best." That philosophy guides both her work and her commitment to clients.
She and Jack have two children, Emma Kate and Dylan, and stay busy coaching Dylan’s baseball team through Greensboro Parks & Recreation. When she’s not working or volunteering, she enjoys playing pickleball and tennis.
She loves Greensboro and the incredible sense of community it offers. Giving back to the place that shaped her has always been important, and if she could make a living solely by helping others and volunteering, she would. That passion continues to drive everything she does.
Stacey Youngdale
Board Member / Vice President
(She / Her)
Stacey Youngdale (she/her) is a seasoned people and culture leader with more than 30 years of experience across aviation, heavy equipment, financial services, and manufacturing. Known for her pragmatic yet empathetic style, she has worked throughout the U.S. and internationally to build inclusive, high-performing workplaces. Currently serving as Vice President of People and Culture for a global heavy equipment manufacturer, she is also an active board member dedicated to promoting community service and addressing housing affordability issues.
Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree from Barry University and an MBA from LSU Shreveport, after beginning her studies at SUNY Oswego. Deeply committed to service, she has contributed to the Community Theatre of Greensboro as both a board member and president, organized corporate builds for Habitat for Humanity, and is an active member of the Crescent Rotary of Greensboro. Her philanthropic focus includes poverty and hunger relief, mental health, and animal welfare.
In her personal time, Stacey enjoys being with family, reading, and exploring nature, especially birdwatching. A native New Yorker, she now lives in North Carolina with her husband and works in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Karen Berrier
Board Member / Treasurer
(She / Her)
Karen Berrier is a Certified Public Accountant with over 35 years of experience that includes public accounting, internal auditing, financial accounting, financial reporting, internal control, and compliance. She currently serves as Vice President of Financial Control and Accounting for Volvo Group North America. Prior to her role at Volvo, she was an Audit Manager at Ernst & Young, working with a diverse range of clients in manufacturing, banking, technology, and non-profit sectors. As a dedicated board member, she actively engages in community service initiatives that address housing affordability issues.
Karen resides in Summerfield, NC with her husband Chad and their beloved dog Ace. She is the proud mother of three remarkable adult children, and the oldest has recently made her an overjoyed new grandmother. In addition to her professional commitments, she has volunteered with Operation Backpack and BackPack Beginnings, and she is a supporter of St. Jude's. In her spare time, Karen enjoys traveling, hiking, playing pickleball, and cherishing moments with family and friends.
Michael Robinson
Board Member / At Large
(He / Him)
Michael Robinson (he/him) is an organizational culture facilitator and leadership development specialist with nearly a decade of experience across education, non-profit, government, and grassroots sectors. As a former Program Director at North Carolina for Community and Justice (NCCJ), he facilitated programs that helped organizations, including board members, build their capacity for holding difficult conversations and foster intentionally inclusive practices in community service.
Michael holds a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies from UNC-Greensboro and founded Shifting Lenses in 2016, a workshop series that brings people together to discuss divisive issues, such as housing affordability, and build community knowledge in public spaces. When he's not working, Michael is playing make-believe or building puzzles with his 8-year-old daughter, taking long walks with his wife, Darah, and dog, Eugene, and probably half-finishing a new knitting project.